Where to Eat in Tamarin, Mauritius: Our Cafés and Local Favourites
Published 30 October 2026
By the end of our Tamarin stay, we had places we kept going back to. A morning matcha, a poke bowl for lunch, a cinnamon roll we didn't particularly need but definitely wanted. That says much more than a long list of restaurant pins we saved and never used! We spent almost three weeks around Tamarin in August and September 2026, working most mornings, cooking at home and heading out for the places below.
Quick answer: where would I go back?
Coffee Shore for our morning routine, The Break for poke bowls and carrot cake, KOKO for cinnamon rolls and Baz Lokal for a local lunch that changes every day. I'd add JIVA for breakfast (and genuinely fast Wi-Fi when we worked there), Sketch for the setting and its coconut cloud drinks, and L'ENVOL for pizza. The Bay is the one I'd give a whole afternoon to. These stops are spread around Tamarin and the wider Black River area, and we had a car, so check how far each one is from your accommodation.
Coffee Shore: the repeat morning stop
Coffee Shore became one of those little routines that makes a longer stay feel like living somewhere. We stumbled across it on a morning walk, and it was such a relief. A lot of the cafés we'd tried used pod machines, and plenty didn't open early, but this little nook near the main bay had proper beans, a proper coffee machine and was the only place we found open early.
Dan would get an Americano and I'd get a hot matcha with full cream milk. Honestly, the ratio of matcha to milk was 10 out of 10, and it wasn't too sweet because they use proper matcha. I hadn't had a good one in so long! The owner is from Turkey and works with Mauritian staff, and before long he knew our order. One morning he insisted on making Dan an Americano with tonic water, on the house, and Dan, who loves his classic Americano, really liked it.
We'd usually walk down between 7 and 7:30am. I believe it opened at 6:30 when we were there, but check the hours before you set an alarm for it. One Sunday it was still shut at 8:30 (we think the owner was out surfing!), so we went to The Break instead. The guy who runs The Break is friends with the Coffee Shore owner, which I loved.
The Break: bowls, kombucha and carrot cake
The Break was our very first meal out in Tamarin, and we kept going back. It's a little old surf-shack-style café near the beach, with exactly the laid-back feel I wanted for an easy lunch. We had tuna poke bowls with fresh pineapple, carrot, avocado, cucumber, really nice rice and good sauces, plus two home-made kombuchas. Fresh, healthy and full of flavour!
The carrot cake is a must-try. I said it in our Tamarin video and I'll say it again here. The coffee is good too, and on our morning walk we'd go to either The Break or Coffee Shore depending on the time, with Dan getting a coffee and me a matcha or a kombucha.
It fitted neatly between work, groceries and beach time. We didn't need every meal to be a special occasion, and this was the sort of place that worked with the day we were already having. There is Wi-Fi, but I'd come for a bowl and a slice of cake rather than a full workday.
KOKO: the cinnamon-roll stop
KOKO is known for its cinnamon rolls (in Australia we'd call them scrolls), and they were so good. You need to go here while you're in Tamarin! We popped in one afternoon, and a roll was MUR100, about A$3.
There's a good range of coffee too, and Dan thought it was a nicer place to sit and maybe work than some of the other cafés. If you're staying with a kitchen, this is the sort of small treat that sits alongside cooking rather than replacing it. We weren't choosing between eating out constantly and never leaving the apartment. The mixture was what I enjoyed.
JIVA Coffee & Roastery: breakfast and a change of scene
JIVA roasts its own beans, and they're the same beans we'd been drinking every morning at Coffee Shore, so we had to go and see where they came from. The first time, we went for a morning coffee (I had a latte) and ended up working there for a few hours. The internet was super fast, which is not something I can say about every café on this list.
We didn't eat on that first visit, but the food going past looked lovely, so we came back for breakfast. It was a proper Australian-style breakfast, and the coffee is always good because they roast it themselves. Dan reckons it's probably our favourite café in Mauritius, and it had become a regular coffee stop by the end of our stay.
Sketch: a beautiful interior, with a Wi-Fi caveat
Sketch has a gorgeous interior and lots of space, and the signature drinks are what we went for. Dan had the coconut cloud espresso and I had the coconut cloud matcha. It reminded me of a drink I loved at Stain in Buenos Aires. Not quite as good as that one, but good enough that we went back again a few days later.
The signature drinks are on the pricier side; we spent between MUR290 and MUR400 each on our two visits. The Wi-Fi was slow, around 2Mbps when Dan tested it, so I wouldn't book an important video call from here. For a drink and time to enjoy the space, it's lovely.
Baz Lokal: one of the lunches I remember most
Baz Lokal had been on our list since we arrived in Tamarin, and it's such a unique concept. They serve one plate a day, it changes every day and it's always local, usually a curry with fish, chicken or pork. You don't know what you're getting until you arrive.
We came straight after a morning of diving, absolutely starving, and we were the only ones there. Our plate was local tuna with rice, lentils and papaya salad. I'm super fussy with fish and I don't normally like cooked tuna, but the flavours were so yummy and not too strong. I wanted more of the papaya! Dan gave it 10 out of 10, and it was a big plate of food.
The plate changes, so don't arrive expecting our exact tuna lunch. Go for the format and see what's cooking that day.
It was MUR500 per person, and we paid cash, so bring cash. In our spending records the meal shows as zero because the cash withdrawal had already been counted, not because lunch was free. That detail belongs in the budget explanation.
L'ENVOL: I'd return for the pizza
L'ENVOL is a proper Italian pizza place in the heart of Tamarin. We found it through its Google ratings, and it ended one of our favourite Tamarin days: an afternoon at The Bay, sunset drinks at Legend Hill, then pizza. The pizza was 10 out of 10!
We also had the lasagne, which had lovely flavour but came out cold. I'd rather tell you that than pretend every dish was perfect, and it's why pizza is what I'd go back for. Our dinner came to MUR1,165 per person.
The Bay: more of a day out than a quick lunch
We only meant to go to The Bay for lunch. Then we saw the pool, the sun beds and the beach, where the sand is much whiter than at Tamarin's main beach, and we switched to the day pass. It was MUR2,000 per person, about A$60, and redeemable on food and drinks, so it made sense when we were eating there anyway.
That covered about four drinks each, a shared main and two tapas plates. Dan got a local beer the size of his head, and I had a Mauritian mojito made with curry leaves instead of mint, more savoury than sweet and really refreshing. We spent the whole afternoon by the pool and gave it 10 out of 10. If you're not staying there, you need to come for a day pass!
The pass ran from 10:30am to 5pm when we went, so ask about the current arrangement before you go. The Wi-Fi was very slow for us, so treat it as a day off rather than a workday.
Legend Hill: sunset drinks and the view
Legend Hill is a newer bar, hotel and spa up on the hill, and the view at sunset was unbelievable. On our way out that evening there was a beautiful rainbow over Gorilla Mountain (our nickname, because the side of it looks like a gorilla's face), and we passed lots of cute goats on the side of the road!
The restaurant didn't open until later in the evening, so we just went up for sunset and a drink, and the drinks were brilliant. Ours came to MUR600 each. We didn't stay or eat there, and I'd happily do exactly the same again.
Find the stops on our saved map
Use our Mauritius saved map to locate the food stops around Tamarin and Black River. It has a few other places saved for inspiration too; the ones in this article are where we actually ate and drank.
How I'd fit these into a stay
I'd save a few choices by the kind of meal, then leave the day open. Coffee Shore or The Break for the morning walk, The Break or Baz Lokal for lunch, KOKO for a treat, JIVA when there's work to do, and a proper afternoon at The Bay or Legend Hill when you want that setting.
We cooked a lot too. On a normal day we'd walk for coffee, come back and make breakfast (I was obsessed with an avocado toast, pesto and egg combination), then work all morning. Having a kitchen wasn't a compromise that stopped us enjoying food; it made the longer stay feel normal. For a quick protein shake, Pure Food in the mall next to the gym did really good ones. If that sounds like your trip, compare an apartment in the Tamarin guide and use the national accommodation guide to decide whether this is the right base.
We had a car for the whole month, which made these spread-out stops easy, so don't assume every one is an easy walk from every apartment.
Watch our Mauritius trip
Watch our Mauritius vlog on YouTube, 45m21s. This is also our newest public full-length video, verified for this article.
FAQs about eating around Tamarin
Which places did you visit more than once?
Coffee Shore was our near-daily morning stop, and we went back to The Break, Sketch and JIVA too. Everything here comes from actual meals and visits, not saved pins.
Is Baz Lokal's tuna always available?
No. They serve one local plate a day and it changes daily. We happened to get tuna with rice, lentils and papaya salad.
Which café would you choose for reliable work Wi-Fi?
JIVA, based on our visits. The internet was super fast when we worked there for a few hours. Sketch and The Bay were slow for us, and The Break had Wi-Fi but suited lunch better than a workday.
Did you stay at the hotels mentioned?
No. The Bay was a day pass and Legend Hill was sunset drinks. We stayed in apartments around Tamarin.
